novellhall Chapter 73 Sasaeng Fans?
Chapter 73 Sasaeng Fans?
After several days of intensive interviews, Li Zhixing finally came to an end, feeling completely drained.
He still really hated this kind of repetitive work.
Zheng Taiyuan was thrilled by the increased popularity and wanted to drag him out to celebrate, but Li Zhixing refused without a second thought and returned to his home in Fangbeidong before it got dark.
Seeing that the lights were not yet on inside, he paused, then turned and walked along the familiar street toward Lishui Station.
It's only a ten-minute walk from home, and the sign for the Nancheng Four Seasons Market appears at the intersection.
As evening approached, the market stalls began to light up one after another.
The narrow streets were crowded with stalls on both sides, with low awnings and signs stacked one on top of the other.
Residents from the neighborhood stop by to buy groceries after get off work, browsing the fruit and vegetable stalls and cooked food stalls with their shopping bags.
The vendors' shouts, the rustling of plastic bags, and the sizzling of oil mingled together, and the aromas of fried food, stir-fried rice cakes, fish, and kimchi all rushed over.
Li Zhixing pulled his hat brim down further, put on his mask, and walked into the market with his head down.
Just as I passed by the seafood section, someone suddenly called out to me.
"Aigoo, isn't this just knowing how to act!"
Li Zhixing stopped and turned to look.
Behind the seafood stall, a short, stocky middle-aged man wearing black waterproof rubber shoes was smiling at him.
He was carrying a hose, rinsing the fish scales and blood off the cutting board. The white light shone on the stainless steel tabletop, making it dazzling.
Li Zhixing walked over with a smile and took off his mask.
"Uncle Chenghuan, was my disguise that bad?"
Park Sung-hwan put the water pipe aside and shrugged.
"Isn't this your usual outfit? You don't recognize me just because you're wearing a mask?"
As he spoke, he bent down and rummaged through the ice, quickly picking out two mackerel and deftly putting them into a bag.
"Take this back and have Grandma cook it for you. You must be exhausted from filming these days."
Li Zhixing didn't stand on ceremony and reached out to take it.
"Thank you, Uncle."
After speaking, he glanced at the narrow passage next to the seafood stall and lowered his voice.
"Has anyone been causing trouble lately?"
Upon hearing this, Park Sung-hwan's eyes widened immediately, and he even patted his chest with an air of importance.
"With you, the guardian deity, here to keep things in check, which troublemaker would dare to cause trouble in our market now?"
"Hey..."
Li Zhixing's eye twitched.
"Which bastard gave me that lousy nickname? It's so stupid!"
Park Sung-hwan burst into laughter.
"How resounding! The door gods are the hallmark of our market."
After that, the smile on his face faded a little, and he moved closer to Li Zhixing to ask.
"Zhixing, how's my son doing lately? Has he been behaving well at action school?"
Lee Ji-haeng recalled Park Dong-soo's nosebleed from the fight that day and said with a smile.
"Don't worry, Uncle!"
"Dong-soo is a promising young man. He's hardworking and can endure hardship. He'll make it big in a few years."
"He's much more mature now, and he's even quit smoking recently. He's much more presentable than before."
"That's good, that's good."
Park Sung-hwan breathed a sigh of relief, wiped his hands on his apron, and then sighed with some emotion:
"If it weren't for you, my son would still be..."
Li Zhixing quickly waved his hand.
"Alright, alright, Uncle Chenghuan has said it so many times already."
Park Sung-hwan chuckled, his dark face crinkling with wrinkles.
Then, he bent down and scooped some clams and a few shrimp from the basin next to him. He also cut a piece of cod from the edge of the ice table and stuffed it into the bag along with a piece of cleaned seaweed.
"Uncle will add some more for you, and make an extra soup when you get back."
Li Zhixing looked at the significantly increased amount of weight in the bag and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Uncle, if you keep stuffing people in, I'll have to open my fish stall tonight."
"Stop talking nonsense."
Park Sung-hwan twisted the bag and pushed it directly into his arms.
"Just take it."
Li Zhixing took the bag and was about to leave when he couldn't help but turn back and say:
"By the way, Uncle Chenghuan, the drama I'm in will be airing next month, remember to watch it!"
Upon hearing this, Park Sung-hwan's expression immediately became a little unnatural, and his eyes darted to the side.
"Zhixing, you know your uncle, he doesn't like..."
Li Zhixing added with a cold laugh:
"Kim Tae-hee is in it!"
Park Sung-hwan's eyes lit up immediately.
"I love watching it, of course I'll watch it! I have to support Zhixing's new drama!"
He patted his chest, speaking much more freely than before.
"Don't worry, Uncle will watch it every night without fail, and he'll even get everyone from the market to watch it together!"
Li Zhixing looked at him expressionlessly.
"Uncle, I'm going to the action school to beat up your son tomorrow."
"Hey, you little rascal!"
......
After leaving the seafood stall, Li Zhixing carried the heavy bag of fish and walked further into the market.
After passing through the cooked food stalls and a few small restaurants, further on, there are more stalls selling daily necessities and clothing.
The road here isn't as slippery as the seafood area before, but it's narrower.
Socks, aprons, harem pants, and cheap knitwear hung in rows in front of the stalls, while small stalls selling hair clips, hair ties, and keychains were squeezed between several stalls.
After turning a corner, Li Zhixing saw his grandmother's stall.
Grandma sat on a low folding stool, with a piece of floral cloth spread out in front of her.
Hair clips, hair ties, a small mirror, and keychains were neatly arranged on the cloth, while two plastic boxes next to it contained sewing kits, cheap earrings, and some odds and ends.
A housewife carrying a shopping bag is squatting in front of the stall picking out items.
Grandma chatted with her with a smile. Seeing her hesitating over the two hair clips, she picked one up, compared the colors in her palm, and then handed it to her to see.
Li Zhixing stood not far away and sighed helplessly.
After the housewife paid and left, Grandma bent down to put the banknotes into her small coin purse, and then a voice came from beside her:
"grandmother!"
Grandma paused in her work.
She looked up at Li Zhixing, and her previously smiling expression suddenly became somewhat uneasy.
"Aigoo, Zhixing's back so early today?"
Li Zhixing squatted down and began to collect the hair clips and hair ties from the stall into the plastic box.
"I've felt something was off these past few days. The stroller was taken out of the storage room and was wiped so clean."
"Grandma, why are you setting up a stall again? It's not like we absolutely need this to supplement our family income."
"Just come to the market every day and chat with the older women."
Grandma also helped tidy up, muttering to herself.
"It's just a simple thing to do."
"I'm just idling around anyway."
Li Zhixing was still worried.
"What if we encounter troublemakers again?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud voice interrupted from the side.
"Oh dear, what danger could there be!"
Behind the stall next door, Aunt Cui, who sells floral lantern pants, was hanging a pair of pants on a clothes rack.
She had a perm with curly hair, and when she saw Li Zhixing looking over, she even raised her chin at him.
"Our market is peaceful now; even the loan sharks have all run away."
As she spoke, she patted her chest.
"Besides, with us aunties around, how could your grandma possibly suffer a loss?"
Li Zhixing could only smile helplessly and greet him:
"Aunt Cui, is this a new hairstyle? You look much younger!"
Aunt Cui's eyes lit up immediately, and she couldn't stop smiling.
"Oh my god, really?"
"Seriously, she looks at least five years younger."
"I knew it! I also think this hairstyle suits my face shape."
Aunt Cui also came over from next door to help put the keys together.
"Knowledge and action."
Li Zhixing was putting cardboard boxes into the cart when he heard this and looked up at her.
"What's wrong, ma'am?"
"What have you thought about what we discussed before?"
Li Zhixing stopped what he was doing.
"What's wrong?"
Aunt Cui got anxious.
"Oh my god, you kid! You're just destined to be an old lady's son-in-law!"
Li Zhixing's face fell; here we go again.
Aunt Cui immediately perked up and began praising her daughter with great enthusiasm.
"Let me tell you, my daughter graduated from Ewha Womans University."
"She has a good job and is beautiful. When you get married, I'll buy a 30-ping apartment in Fangbeidong as her dowry."
Li Zhixing's eyes lit up slightly.
"Thirty square meters? That must cost a lot of money."
"Right?"
"But……"
Li Zhixing looked somewhat troubled.
"Aunt Jin over there said she'd buy me a 32-ping (approximately 25 square meters) apartment."
"A difference of two pings (approximately 3.3 square meters) is a bit of a problem."
Aunt Cui's smile froze.
The next second, she suddenly stood up, put her hands on her hips, and yelled at a cotton sock stall diagonally across the street:
"Hey, Jin Shunzi! What are you doing?!"
"Your youngest daughter is still in high school, what's the rush?"
Aunt Jin was sitting on a small stool peeling garlic when she heard this. She threw the half-peeled garlic cloves into the basin and stood up as well.
She put one hand on her hip, her voice just as loud as Aunt Cui's.
"What's wrong with going to high school? You'll be an adult in a couple of years! It's better than that girl in your family who's almost thirty and still unmarried!"
"Hey, what did you say?"
Did I say something wrong?
Two middle-aged women started arguing across half the market. Several nearby stall owners were used to it and didn't even bother to look up.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Zhixing stuffed the last cardboard box into the cart and said in a low voice:
"Grandma, hurry up and go!"
Grandma glared at him helplessly.
"You're always causing trouble."
......
By the time I took Grandma home, it was completely dark.
Li Zhixing didn't stay at home for long. After putting his things down, he went straight to a Chinese restaurant.
He's been busy filming and interviewing lately, and he often goes to the action school in the evenings. So it's been a while since he's been to the store.
I arrived early today, just in time for the busiest time of the evening.
The restaurant was at its hottest with the smell of cooking oil. The sounds of stir-frying in the kitchen came one after another, and customers were seated at several tables in the front hall. Li Ming carried plates and walked back and forth between the tables.
As soon as Li Zhixing entered, Li Ming looked up at him, smiled sheepishly, and handed him the empty plate he had just collected.
Li Zhixing took it and turned to go into the kitchen to help.
They were busy until the customers gradually left, the voices in the front of the restaurant quieted down, and the sounds of spatulas in the kitchen finally stopped, and the restaurant became a little quieter.
As Uncle Li and Li Ming finished cleaning up the kitchen and were about to go home, Uncle Li reached the door, then seemed to remember something, turned back and called out to him:
"Knowledge and action."
"Did your fans find out that you came to the store?"
Li Zhixing was wiping the last table when he heard the sound and looked up.
Has anyone been here?
Uncle Li shook his head, looking somewhat hesitant.
"Well, not really, it's just..."
He glanced out the door.
"Recently, a young girl has been standing near our shop every night, constantly looking inside."
"They looked like they were waiting for someone, or maybe they were looking for someone, but they didn't come in to eat or say a word."
"Every time I close the shop, she only leaves after she sees the lights go out."
"But I didn't see it today."
Uncle Li frowned more deeply as he spoke.
"Didn't you guys mention before that there are those fans who follow celebrities everywhere? What are they called again...?"
Hearing this, Li Ming, who was standing nearby, added in a low voice:
"Private... raw food."
Uncle Li slapped his thigh.
"Yes, that's it. I've heard some sasaeng fans are quite scary, so don't take it lightly."
"Be careful, and if you're worried tonight, lock the door from the inside."
Li Zhixing nodded, his expression remaining relatively calm.
"Don't worry, Uncle."
Uncle Li gave a few more instructions before leaving with Li Ming.
The bell at the shop entrance jingled softly for a moment, then quickly fell silent again.
Li Zhixing was the only one left in the Chinese restaurant.
As usual, he sat down at the table in the corner, turned on his computer, and started writing.
I don't know how much time passed.
The bell at the door suddenly rang.
Someone pushed the door open and came in.
Li Zhixing turned his head to look over.
The first thing that catches the eye is a pair of eyes that can't hide their surprise.
"Oppa!"
......